Register      Login
Australian Journal of Primary Health Australian Journal of Primary Health Society
The issues influencing community health services and primary health care

Australian Journal of Primary Health

Australian Journal of Primary Health

Australian Journal of Primary Health publishes contributions on the theory and evidence-based practise of community health services and primary health care. Read more about the journalMore

Editors-in-Chief: Virginia Lewis and Liz Sturgiss

Publishing Model: Hybrid. Open Access options available.

Are you eligible for APC-free Open Access?

Download our Journal Flyer (PDF, 896KB)

Latest

These articles are the latest published in the journal. Australian Journal of Primary Health has moved to a continuous publication model. More information is available on our Continuous Publication page.

This study investigates the relationship between health literacy and impaired cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk perception in individuals at high risk for CVD. It is not uncommon for those with high CVD risk to be unaware of their condition, which can be influenced by various factors, such as age, education level, work and family history. Health care providers assess CVD risk and recommend screening for those at risk. This research is one of the few that focuses on this important topic.

Published online 05 March 2024

PY23074Mapping community-based youth mental health services in Tasmania, Australia

Melissa Savaglio, Marie Yap, Ash Vincent and Helen Skouteris
 

Standard descriptions of mental healthcare provision are needed to inform evidence-based mental healthcare policy, planning and implementation. Systematic service scoping and mapping of community-based youth mental health services in Tasmania, Australia highlighted the limited availability and accessibility of supports available for young people (aged under 25 years) experiencing mental illness. These findings may inform the (re)design, (re)development and implementation of community-based youth mental health services, including a focus on integrated models of youth mental healthcare.

Published online 01 March 2024

PY23200Access to primary eye care for people living with dementia: a call to action for primary care practitioners to ‘think vision’

Marianne Piano 0000-0003-0714-6339, Bao Nguyen 0000-0002-3097-619X, Flora Hui 0000-0003-2218-9951 and Constance Dimity Pond 0000-0001-6520-4213
 

Access to allied health services offers significant benefits for people living with dementia, yet access is currently fragmented and inconsistent. People living with dementia are at greater risk of experiencing vision impairment, preventable through regular eye examinations usually provided by community-based optometrists in a primary care capacity. We encourage all primary care practitioners to ‘think vision’ when consulting with people living with dementia, and advocate for a schedule of regular eye tests post-diagnosis.

This article belongs to the Collection Access to Primary Health Care.

Published online 20 February 2024

PY23164A content analysis of the interventions for low back pain promoted on the websites of Australian pain clinics

Chris G. Maher 0000-0002-1628-7857, Christopher S. Han, Stephen E. Gilbert and Michael K. Nicholas
 

Information online about how low back pain should be treated is often not comprehensive and of low quality. Websites of Australian pain services endorsed by PainAustralia often offer treatments recommended for low back pain, but there is little information on the importance of interdisciplinary care and fewer pain services in non-urban areas. Patients are likely being educated about guideline-endorsed care for low back pain, but patients in non-urban areas are likely to experience difficulty in accessing this.

Published online 15 February 2024

PY23213‘Can a relative override a patient’s Advance Care Directive?’: end-of-life legal worries of general practitioners and nurses working in aged care

Ben White, Rachel Feeney 0000-0002-8306-1030, Marcus Sellars, Penny Neller, Patsy Yates and Lindy Willmott
 

The law supports good end-of-life clinical practice by facilitating health care that aligns with the values and goals of patients, including those residing in residential aged care facilities. GPs and nurses here reported broad-ranging legal concerns relevant to providing end-of-life care within aged care, including substitute decision makers/family members wanting to overrule Advance Care Directives, requests for futile or non-beneficial treatment and conflict about decision-making. Participants’ concerns can inform end-of-life legal training for aged care GPs and nurses.

Published online 15 February 2024

PY23208Exploring the feasibility of a gambling harm screening model in general practice and community service settings in Fairfield: a pilot study

Andrew Reid 0000-0001-8173-2710, Nick McGhie 0000-0003-0827-9539, Thi Huyen Linh Nguyen 0000-0002-2815-0241, Uday Yadav 0000-0002-6626-1604, Patricia Cullen 0000-0003-4652-0936, Leon Booth 0000-0002-6326-1908 and Amy Bestman 0000-0003-1269-2123
 

Primary healthcare and community services are important settings for gambling harm screening, and more broadly can contribute to the prevention and treatment of gambling harm in communities. However, there has been limited research on how screening can be embedded into routine practice. This pilot research identifies the enablers and barriers to implementing a co-designed screening model in local primary care settings.

Published online 15 February 2024

PY23072Child health nurses’ perceptions of the Family Community-based Assistance Resourcing and Education program in contemporary practice: a qualitative study

Nicole Latham 0000-0002-5203-7310, Jeanine Young 0000-0003-3849-3392, Josephine Wilson 0000-0002-4176-1864, Michelle Gray 0000-0002-3359-0989 and Kendall George
 

Home visiting programs can improve outcomes for infants and families at risk of suboptimal health and developmental outcomes. However, there is limited evidence regarding the efficacy of current programs in use in Queensland. This study analyses Child Health Nurse perceptions of one such program, with findings confirming the need for active monitoring of program outcomes against their stated objectives.

Published online 09 February 2024

PY23017What do parents think about child’s routine height and weight measures? A qualitative study

Slavica Krstic, Sarah Dennis, Faye Southcombe and Elizabeth Denney-Wilson
 

Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are often reluctant to perform height and weight measurements or raise the issue of weight. In contrast, parents/carers often expect weight concerns to be addressed during episodes of care. Increasing HCP awareness of parents’/carers’ views and expectations in the prevention and management of obesity may lead to clinical practice improvements and provide a first step in addressing excess weight gain in children.

Published online 08 February 2024

PY23085Exploring organisational readiness to implement a preventive intervention in Australian general practice for overweight and obese patients: key learnings from the HeLP-GP trial

Sharon Parker 0000-0001-7904-6420, An Tran, Shoko Saito, Carmel McNamara 0000-0002-3321-764X, Elizabeth Denney-Wilson 0000-0001-9879-4969, Don Nutbeam, Mark Fort Harris 0000-0002-0705-8913 and
 

General practice nurses play a key role in delivering prevention. This paper describes the experience of implementing a nurse-led obesity intervention in Australian general practice through the lens of organisational readiness. Our results suggest that for nurses in general practice to fulfil their potential in supporting patients to reduce risk and adopt healthier life choices, more could be done to improve their workforce positioning and remuneration, which may, in turn, improve continuity of care, retention and individual motivation.

Published online 06 February 2024

PY23127An integrative review of missed nursing care and the general practice nurse

Eileen Willis, Claire Verrall 0000-0001-5557-7067, Susan McInnes and Elyce Pate
 

Identifying missed nursing care is an important avenue to achieving improvements in patient care. Predominantly undertaken in the acute sector, there is a need to expand missed care research to the primary healthcare sector. We conducted an integrative review to determine missed care and the general practice nurse. Some commonalities between the primary health and acute sectors were identified such as issues with communication and resource availability. Recent calls for general practice nurses to work to the top of their scope involve a more nuanced understanding of the role, and what is being missed.

Physiotherapists working in primary care are becoming increasingly important members of interprofessional healthcare teams. This research outlines key strategies from the perspective of Queensland physiotherapy private practitioners, including reforming funding structures, leveraging digital communication and improving education and training initiatives, to promote effective interprofessional collaborative practice. The insights from this study underscore the broader complexities within Australia’s healthcare system and emphasise the need for strategic changes to achieve collaboration in ensuring optimal patient care.

Published online 19 January 2024

PY23045Leading primary care under the weight of COVID-19: how leadership was enacted in six australian general practices during 2020

Kathleen Wisbey 0000-0003-2948-6721, Riki Lane 0000-0002-3334-5545, Jennifer Neil, Jenny Advocat 0000-0001-7965-2244, Karyn Alexander, Benjamin F. Crabtree 0000-0003-2292-6835, William L. Miller and Grant Russell 0000-0003-3773-2355
 

COVID-19 posed unique challenges to primary health care in Australia and globally. Leaders played a critical role in navigating the impacts of the pandemic, although minimal opportunities were created to foster emergent leaders. Hierarchical leadership styles allowed rapid responses, yet the impact of power imbalance affected the wider team morale. Our study demonstrates the importance of promoting interdisciplinary communication and the need for formal leadership training to be implemented in Australian general practices, to allow for better preparedness for future pandemics.

Published online 19 January 2024

PY23135Healthy ageing in remote Cape York: a co-designed Integrated Allied Health Service Model

Alice Cairns 0000-0002-3943-1444, Danielle Rodda, Frances Wymarra and Katrina Bird 0000-0001-7017-6683
 

Remote communities require primary care services that are inclusive of allied health and can be responsive to individual and community needs. Services require a workforce and a service model that can be creative and flexible. The Service described, delivered both a novel service model that complemented the primary care services already being delivered, and focused on workforce and community capacity building.

Just Accepted

These articles have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. They are still in production and have not been edited, so may differ from the final published form.

Most Read

The Most Read ranking is based on the number of downloads in the last 60 days from papers published on the CSIRO PUBLISHING website within the last 12 months. Usage statistics are updated daily.

Committee on Publication Ethics

Call for Papers

We are seeking contributions for Special Issues. More

Call for Reviewers

We are seeking reviewers to join the team. More

Call for Reviews

We welcome the submission of high quality review articles. Selected reviews will be offered free open access. More

Best Oral Paper Prize AAAPC 2023

Deidre McGowan has been awarded the Best Oral Paper Prize for 2023.

Advertisement